Vashishthiputra Siri Pulumavi was among the most territorially aggressive of the later Satavahana rulers, briefly pushing Satavahana power into direct conflict with the Western Kshatrapas under Rudradaman I. The Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman, dated to around 150 CE, records his defeat of "Satakarni" — almost certainly referencing this dynasty's expansion into Kshatrapa-held Gujarat and Malwa. That contest ended badly for the Satavahanas, and the coinage of Pulumavi's reign reflects the resulting contraction.
The matronymic in his name — Vashishthiputra, "son of Vashishtha" — follows a Satavahana practice of matrilineal identification that is unusual in Indian dynastic coinage of this period.
Vashishthiputra Siri Pulumavi was among the most territorially aggressive of the later Satavahana rulers, briefly pushing Satavahana power into direct conflict with the Western Kshatrapas under Rudradaman I. The Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman, dated to around 150 CE, records his defeat of "Satakarni" — almost certainly referencing this dynasty's expansion into Kshatrapa-held Gujarat and Malwa. That contest ended badly for the Satavahanas, and the coinage of Pulumavi's reign reflects the resulting contraction.
The matronymic in his name — Vashishthiputra, "son of Vashishtha" — follows a Satavahana practice of matrilineal identification that is unusual in Indian dynastic coinage of this period.